Review: Power Paladin – Beyond The Reach Of Enchantment
ROAR – March 27th, 2026
Reviewer – David Pearce
Power Paladin released their first album in 2022, entitled ‘With the Magic of Windfyre Steel‘ in 2022. Four years later, they are releasing their follow up album ‘Beyond the Reach of Enchantment‘. It covers similar subject matter which focuses on mythical worlds, superbly illustrated on the album by James Child. Power Paladin are a six piece band featuring Atli Guðlaugsson on vocals, Bjarni Þór Jóhannsson & Ingi Þórisson on guitars, drummer Einar Karl Júlíusson, keyboardist Bjarni Egill Ögmundsson and Kristleifur Þorsteinsson on bass. So, let’s dive into the world they have brought to life.
‘Sword Vigor‘ is the opening track and it starts with a thundering, screaming guitar riff played by Bjarni Þór Jóhannsson & Ingi Þórisson with a clear nod to Iron Maiden which is made even clearer by the high pitched vocals of Atli Guðlaugsson. The drums of Einar Karl Júlíusson are a thundering backbeat that give the track huge power and make this one of the best openers I have heard on an album in a long time. ‘Glade Lords of Athel Loren‘ has more of the same as it keeps up the energy but features a more restrained vocal that ushers into the journey we will take with them through the album. ‘The Royal Road‘ starts with a stunning piece of drumming and great bass playing from Kristleifur Þorsteinsson. This is a more anthemic piece of music that has an epic feel to it, with the music suggesting a headlong gallop rather than a walk through the landscape following the road to who knows where. ‘The Arcane Tower‘ does not let the pace flag one iota as we get to the end of Side 1 of the vinyl version. It is the fastest album I have heard in ages and it carries the listener along with its speed, power and enthusiasm.
Side 2 starts with ‘Aegis of Eternity‘ that allows the keyboards of Bjarni Egill Ögmundsson to take centre stage at the start. It’s a heavier track in vocal terms as Guðlaugsson runs through his repertoire of rock singing. It’s a bravura performance that sends him from the bottom of his range to the very top. ‘Camelot Rock City‘ starts with an MC announcing the attractions to come before the guitars of Jóhannsson & Þórisson dial things down a bit and provide the perfect backdrop to an epic quest. The penultimate track is ‘Keeper of the Crimson Dungeon‘, another solid and enjoyable rock track in an album full of them. On a number of albums this would be a standout, but such is the quality of this album, that this is simply a good track. ‘Valediction‘ is, appropriately enough, the final track and it starts with a gorgeous acoustic guitar strummed as if next to a campfire at the end of the day during a quest. This gives way to another frantic guitar riff that makes the end of the album as intense as the start, but it has a different air, one of darkness that reflects, perhaps, the dangers faced by those who have embarked on the journey. It is a epic nine minute long track that gives the album a suitably mythic end.
‘Beyond the Reach of Enchantment‘ is an album that, subject wise, treads familiar ground but treads it in a way that makes it sound fresh once more.
Tracklisting:
- Sword Vigor
- Glade Lords Of Athel Loren
- The Royal Road
- The Arcane Tower (feat. Tommy Johansson)
- Aegis Of Eternity
- Camelot Rock City
- Keeper Of The Crimson Dungeon
- Valediction
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